"Yep," he said plainly. More and more, he chipped away segments of each blade. This continued until both swords were jagged from base to tip, made for shredding that which it cut through. Even though he seemed satisfied with the blades, he wasn't done with the rock. He placed the object beneath the fur worn around his hip, stood with both weapons in hand, and turned to face Tamamo again. With the boar's head resting on his right shoulder, there were two pairs of eyes looking in the Kitsune's direction. There was a question... What did he call himself? Well, there was a very simple answer to that. "Inosuke," he stated. By now, he was prepared to move on. In fact, he seemed ready to engage in combat if necessary; his physical energy was plentiful enough that he felt it needed to be utilized whenever possible. "Let's get going!"
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Clear speech from this lad was hilarious, and very much appreciated. She had no problem with this lad's previous silence, but at the same time, having someone to talk to on adventures like this was nice. Given this she waited patiently for the lad to finish his work and he did, when he did she looked over the two blades now made extremely jagged by his work. What was more, he tucked away the rock he used to create them. She stared aimlessly but her eyes soon found the creature over his shoulder. Those bright blue eyes were a little on the haunting side, but Tamamo, or rather Kimiko was quite used to the pig species of this world, making her unbothered by this extension of the lad. She understood a lot about the spirituality of this land and of the lad himself, so she didn't bother pushing for information about the Avatar he'd created. No, she supposed she'd be fine to figure it out as they went. And soon enough they'd be off again. She began moving forward, at the lad's urging and received from him in response to her question, a name to call him. "Inosuke? Nice name!~" the lass mentioned thinking about it, she may not have introduced herself properly yet either. "Tamamo desu," she finished up before her movements began again.
As they walked the elevation of the land began to shift. Paths started going up hill and the mountains building around them shaded the area. The scenery was nice, and the air felt clear, abnormally so. A marked look of confusion passed over the girl's eyes, as if she could recognize the wrongness of this situation but couldn't really understand it. "There is something very strange about this place," mentioned the Kitsune. She should have known and understood it but she didn't and it was bothersome. Her ears twitched in frustration, even so on the horizon A large tea house came into view. It seemed to be something like the center of a small town. Several lights began to glow in the yard and a large tea pot marked the front of the building. It was a very classically built Japanese style building with stacking roofs and dim lighting. "Sou ka, tea house is a good cover for a Kitsune I guess..." she said noting that this building was directly in the shadow of Mount Kurama and was thus the place they were meant to go. Little did she know, in the shadow of one of these windows a body moved quickly, not giving itself away completely as it shuffled around making an approach towards the front of the building about the newcomers to the area.Comment
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The two were moving again, and Tamamo offered an interesting choice of words. Hearing praise of his name, the male called Inosuke had little clue how to react. Was this lad, with his already abrasive personality traits, blushing? He was indeed; there was even a low grumble escaping him during this moment of confusion. "Uh. . ." He said nothing else. As they walked along, the boar head found itself atop Inosuke's head. It seemed he could see clearly through the boar's eyes, and this felt far more natural to him.
Their brief journey led the pair to a... tea house? Strange, but Inosuke didn't care. The trip had given him ample time to stabilize, both physically in this new form, and mentally from receiving a compliment he apparently didn't know how to deal with. Something was odd here, according to Tamamo. In fact, Inosuke could agree, whether the reasons were similar or not. The boar lad's senses were unnaturally high. Someone was here. Where? Close, he thought. Inosuke's demeanor was somewhat... unstable, by his natural wiring. Whatever this strange presence was, he could be certain as to what they wanted. His swords were at the ready within moments of smelling a foreign entity, and he yelled through the boar head as if it were the thing producing a voice. "Come on then! Fight me like a man!"Comment
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The embarrassed reaction of the lad made Tamamo chuckle. "Ara ara, that's a little one, you'll need to get used to much worse!~" she mentioned of her own teasing nature. That being said, no one received the brunt of her teasing more than the object of her affections. Even so, no one was truly off limits either... given that this version of herself was just more friendly in an open way. As they walked along, the lad eventually had the head of the boar atop his own and he seemed to be more comfortable that way. 'Yep, just walking side by side with a pretty boy hidden beneath a pig head. Totally a normal afternoon for me!~' thought the Kitsune as she continued to make her way forward.
Upon reaching the tea house the movements inside were met with rather obvious animosity from Inosuke. What was more, a woman clad in a blue dress of the mainland eventually made her way to the door. Around this pair, several balls of blue fire rose from the ground as if she was planning to launch an attack upon this pair. The words of the boy with the pigs head didn't go unnoticed. "I am not a man. This is fox fire, you'll burn before you move. I cannot afford to waste this kind of energy on... you?" there was a pause in this woman's speech. She'd been addressing Inosuke so much so that she'd not looked in Tamamo's direction until of course, her eyes came across the tails on her back. "Impossible. You can't exist here!" she exclaimed the magic of this area seemed to become more dense suddenly and that was when Tamamo felt it properly, the pull of the Leylines directly into this other Kitsune's body. She was frightened obviously and now each of her tails flashed with several different weapons. It was all show though, she was draining the energy she was using from the surrounding land. The feeling of the very life force of the land exiting made the animals across the nearby lands scream drove them crazy as they aimed to run away from this unnatural display of power. "Sou ka, that's what it is."Comment
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Worse? How could things get even worse than what had just fallen from the Kitsune's mouth? At this rate, he would certainly revert to a nature he understood when receiving any sort of praise... and the only one happened to be one of violence. Speaking of violence, he luckily had a distraction from Tamamo's nature mere moments after arriving at this teahouse. Who was it? What did they want, and why was it to fight someone as incredible as him? The only result would be him showcasing his superior genes, his unrivaled ability in combat, and his overwhelming strength! "Hah! Hah?!" he grunted as he held out both swords, constantly shifting left and right at the drop of a dime, as if searching for his target.
It wasn't a man? Whatever; surely they could fight like one, and fall to him all the same. This woman's light show was nothing that seemed to concern Inosuke, but her claiming it would be a waste to use energy on him was infuriating. Without hesitation, he threw an absolute fit, pointing an accusatory finger with a shaking arm at the fox. "HAH!? Out of my way, Yamado! I'm gonna put that thing in the dirt before you get the chance!"Comment
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The lad now known as Inosuke seemed to be of a variable temperament. Whatever the case, he was soon distracted by the coming of a certain Kyuubi who seemed to be in charge of the Tea House as an establishment. Her words to the lad, apparently didn't sit right with him, and Tamamo got to watch as he seemed to be aggitated beyond what would be normal. The Kyuubi to her credit seemed to be exceedingly confused by the little boy with the Boar Spirit attached to him. That confusion played easily across her face, but still she prepared for battle, a tachi of incredible length materialized in her hand and she held it at her fore blade end facing upwards. In the meantime, Tamamo couldn't help but notice she'd been called by the wrong name and though confusion passed her face as well, it quickly disappeared behind amusement as she corrected her companion. "Tamamo. And do what you want. It would be better if I didn't do anything too scary right now," she mentioned casually.
The Kyuubi here didn't seem to think much of the statement made by the lass, but the name Tamamo was quite confusing, it was a known alias for a certain fox creature. But the girl couldn't be the same one right? That woman had died many years ago, and everything about her had been lost in the interim. "Tamamo? You mean like Daji? You can't be Daji!" exclaimed the golden furred fox. She couldn't trust the motivations of anyone showing up to her place, now she'd have to turn them away, apparently with force but she'd tried once more to get them to back down. "Last chance. Leave!" she exclaimed. Tamamo couldn't help but look at this woman. She seemed quite desperate. When the slime mentioned that the Kitsune were standoffish she didn't think that it'd be so bad. "Uh, well yes and no. My origins are a bit complicated... you shouldn't be tapping into the leylines like that, you'll ravage the land," she mentioned in an offhanded manner.Comment
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What? Tamamo? Oh, he'd gotten the name wrong. No worries; he would easily fix that when his posture was righted. "Komero," he said in the most casual manner, as if there was no chance of him being even remotely wrong this time. Now, he could address the more voluptuous of the two foxes in the vicinity─ the one he intended to bury. Sadly, his target seemed more interested in Tamamo, and warning both of them to leave. "Hah?!" he grunted again, seemingly aghast after his threatening nature was so brazenly ignored. Who did she think she was?! Oh, he'd put her in her place... after he finished throwing a tantrum for the sake of preserving his ego. "She can see me standing here, right, Jiijuumo?! She knows we should be fighting, right?"Comment
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Tamamo's commentary about tapping the land made the enemy Kitsune's eyes widen. If she knew that much then it should be assumable she knew why it was necessary. She didn't have a real bluff to make now. It was obvious by looking at this young woman that her spiritual presence was unhampered even here. And though she might win a fight of pure battle skill and weaponry, once magic or spirituality were introduced, she'd lose without question. What was she to do, well? Initially she'd keep holding her weapon high all while some sort of strange conversation was taking place between the two individuals who showed here. "What?! That sounded nothing like what I said, Tamamo!" she exclaimed seemingly exasperated. She knew for a fact that new avatars were dice rolls as far as personalities were concerned, still she didn't really expect this lad to go so very off of his base personality. Unless of course, it was that his last avatar was the one which was off, and this was more normal. That would make things rather interesting but it still wasn't a thought she could give much time to.
Still the tantrum being thrown by Inosuke was just enough, even the older Kitsune couldn't help but chuckle at his antics, even as she tried to maintain some semblance of her threatening demanor. Once again, Tamamo was left to correct this lad's use of her name, which she'd do while explaining the nature of this situation. "That sounded closer but still wrong, Tamamo," she softly explained. "And yes, she should be fighting and she knows that. But as strong as she is, she hasn't simply attacked. Meaning she's bluffing," mentioned Tamamo which shocked the Kitsune across from them, but never one to simply jab one person she tossed another. "But I'm sure you realized that too!~" she teased happily. "And it's why you didn't attack either, Inosuke was bluffing to call your bluff," she gently prodded the lad giving him the brightest of smiles she could manage. Handing off credit for this de-escalation. In the meantime the Kitsune before them showed such outright confusion on her visage that she was unsure of what to say. The motivations of this pair were different, but their aura's didn't come off as menacing. Besides, it isn't as if the Orochi would work with a fox, so there was a good chance Tamamo could be convinced to join her side right? A Kitsune so strong would be able to help with the problem she had, potentially. The weapon she brandished slowly lowered and then shifted from her tail to her hand, and the pull on the land's leylines stopped as well. "I know I shouldn't pull on the Leylines so much. But I don't really have a choice anymore. I have to protect this place," she spoke softly, still skeptical. Tamamo knew what this was and shrugged. "I do apologize I didn't mean to ignore you so directly but I couldn't know what you intended. I have no doubt you're among the strongest to be found here~" she said directly to Inosuke, also flashing the lad a bright smile. It became obvious that the flirty nature of Kitsune's was a species thing and not just specific to Tamamo.Comment
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"Yamero!" Inosuke said, taking it as the Kitsune's name instead of the request, or rather demand, that it was. Surely, he had it right this time... but who really cared anyway? It wasn't about names; it was about ability, and he would soon prove his to be supreme. What was the pink-haired one saying now? The other fox was bluffing? Well, of course she was; there was no way she could actually do as she implied without being felled in an instant by the boar lad. And, of course he realized she was bluffing! The only thing he could not agree with, was that he, too, offered only a bluff. "I wasn't bluffing! I'll bury both of you twice, right here!" he proclaimed. He still hadn't made a move to actually attack anyone, but something was wrong. Why was no one matching his energy? It should only be natural to be this hyper about fighting, right? Everyone else spoke so softly, so... disgustingly calm about everything.
The older Kitsune spoke of not knowing his intentions when she ignored him. That didn't make sense. The entire time, he'd made his intentions abundantly clear. He was the best of the best, and he was going to prove it in glorious combat, even if the only witnesses were corpses with furry tails! Little did he know, he'd be bested by the same ego which spawned such a demeanor. Suddenly, the ire he displayed became sheer arrogance. It seemed there was one sort of compliment he knew how to accept. "HAHAHA! That's more like it! I'm pretty amazing, aren't I? I'm pretty amazing, aren't I?!" he replied, pressing his fists against his own sides as his chest inflated.Comment
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Apparently this shift in personality in Inosuke came with some very interesting habits. One of which was apparently the lack of ability to call Tamamo's name as she'd told it to him. This time it came out as a command to cease which only made the pink haired Kitsune slap her hand over her face. "TA! MA! MO!" she emphasized each syllable separately. Maybe she'd just been talking to fast. Not really likely, but the lore about Orcs made her realize that such things might not be important enough to the lad she was currently traveling with. Ah, no matter, he also seemed incapable of more than standard reasoning. Claiming that he wasn't bluffing at all. A laugh escaped her, she knew well how such a fight would have ended for him, and couldn't help but find his attitude to be quite funny. Perhaps it really was more of this personality specifically, as Diva was definitely much more cautious but reasonable about his power. Whatever the case, the only thing the lad seemed to notice was that there was obviously not going to be a fight here. Instead he seemed confused until a compliment was sent his way, which he responded to in a way that made more laughter erupt from the pink haired lass.
"Ara ara, if you respond like that, there won't be any room for anyone else to compliment you, Inosuke!~" she chimed only to make the other Kitsune chuckle. "Iie, he really is great. Look at him!~" she said seeming to find the entire display cute. Regardless of Inosuke's intentions, he'd succeeded in diffusing the tension and easing them out of a fight against the Kitsune who owned this Tea House. "Why don't you both come in. I'll play good host and I'll serve tea while we talk..." she mused. "And you can be my guest of honor!~" she said specifically to Inosuke. The lad didn't know, but this particular fox had his number now and she'd likely continue paying him flirty compliments while she tested the waters with Tamamo. She motioned for the pair to follow inside and Tamamo could only shrug. "I guess I can't stop anyone from being a guest of honor or anything, and tea would be nice..." she mused seeming not to care, though she honestly didn't need to consume anything, she wouldn't turn down kindness now that it was being offered. They would be lead inside a slightly darkened building, lit by ghostly lanterns with soft glowing flames which floated aimlessly in the air. The entire place gave off the gentle hum of a barrier but seemed to be welcoming and warm blocking magical interference from the outside and keeping out any but the invited. She'd lead the group the grandest palor, with a low sitting old style Japanese table. In the middle a warming set of coals for a tea pot and on the back wall an alignment of tea and the related accessories.Comment
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"Manako!" the boar lad exclaimed, seeming irritated by the repetition of a name. As for his obvious arrogance, what did the fox mean? Of course there was room for others to compliment him; there was always more to be said about his awesomeness! Inosuke was no simple beast, but a great boar, the ultimate creature! He'd headbutt anyone to death and flay them with his mighty tusks, he'd eat first and most, and he'd back down from nothing! What more could one expect? Either way, being hailed as an honored guest was something he could accept. Was it a trap? Likely. Again though, he would back down from nothing, and that included walking directly into a trap and emerging as the victor. Steam erupted from the boar head's snout as Inosuke steeled himself, staring down the older Kitsune. He was ready, for any and everything these people would throw at him. "I'll drink five times more tea than the rest of you! Start serving!" he yelled while pointing at the fox in blue once more.Comment
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"Ugh, I am starting to believe you are doing this on purpose... Tamamo," were the only words of actual frustration spoken by Tamamo. Soon after within this tea room she was seated at one end of the table while tea was being served. According to Inosuke he planned to drink more tea than everyone, this was fine with Tamamo considering she didn't even need to drink. A cup of tea in fine chine was sat before her, and one before Inosuke before the tea pot itself was sat on the coals in the middle of the table. Tamamo sipped the first of her tea, only after watching the older Kitsune do the same, the sip was enlightening, with a mix of citrus and floral flavors, similar to lotus tea but ever so slightly different. "Nice tea, so do you want to explain that little light show outside, Nee-san?" Tamamo asked gently as her eyes flickered over the top of the cup.
"Yare yare, forgive me. I am Kurama Kuono and I thought you might be the enemy. I've had some strange people come here lately and none of them want anything good. I also... lost something very important to me. I might have been a bit hasty in my assessment here though," she said softly. Tamamo waved off her apology and grinned as she reached for a single lotus shaped tea cake also found in the middle of the table. "Sou ka, well no harm done or anything... I'm not the kind of person who cares about that sort of thing. Who did you see that made you afraid and what did you lose?" she asked softly. A woman of her tier shouldn't have many problems, even while missing her Hoshinotama. So, her explanations here would be how Tamamo determined if she would help her. "A Jorogumo came here, she claimed she wanted to work. But... she really just wanted to take over and turn it into... well, a house of ill repute," she said settling on the most old fashioned reference Tamamo had heard in a while. "I told her no, sent her on her way. And my clients started going missing, the mountain pass became dangerous and people stopped coming except for her ambassadors trying to get me to turn this place over," she explained the situation in typical quest starter fashion. Tamamo heard it out, and could smell a fetch quest on the horizon.Comment
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"... Tama─" Finally, the time had come. Was Inosuke prepared to speak the true name of the Kitsune he accompanied? It certainly seemed so, and only after half a dozen attempts or so. On second thought, though, perhaps it didn't matter at all. Such would be the state of mind belonging to Inosuke when he finally gave up, huffing as he spoke further. "Who cares anyway?!"
Into the teahouse he went nonetheless. Inosuke had a plan, and he intended to stick to it. Once he was seated before a collection of tea cakes, he aimed to have at as many as possible. In fact, the first one he snatched at happened to be the very same one reached for by Tamamo, along with another taken up in his free hand. Inosuke shoved an entire cake into his maw at a time, and each time grinned arrogantly in either Tamamo or Kuono's direction before he inserted another. The ongoing discussion was no concern of his, bar one specific thing. Spiders? That sounded quite interesting, he had to admit. Perhaps he'd soon have something worth attacking after all. . .Comment
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Hope! For a moment, there was shining, glittering hope... that the lad known as Inosuke was about to say her name properly. Ah, but then he foiled it. Dashed were her hopes and dreams as the lad questioned who actually cared about such things in things in the first place. Tamamo in the moment, visibly deflated. It seemed there were many kinds of wars she could win, and this simply wasn't one of them. "I care, because..." there was a gentle pause from the young woman. "It is my name." Moving right along, the tea cake she'd reached for was snatched up by the lad while they spoke with the elder Kitsune now known as Kuono. She watched as Inosuke shoved the cake she'd reached for into his mouth and then immediately took another. Perhaps the now pig lad was truly hungry. Tamamo's desires and hungers in a general sense were very different, she didn't need to eat. Beyond that she definitely didn't intend to get into any kind of eating contest with a pig of any sort. "Well, if you're hungry why don't you just eat as much as you'd like, hm?" she asked him pushing the plate across so that he could take his fill. She had no intention of munching on them happily if he was going to interrupt.
Kuono for her part, laughed at this interaction. It was surprisingly light-hearted for the sorts of things that had been happening around her business lately. "I could of course, hold the spiders off myself, without all the show, but the thing that was lost to me, was my Hoshinotama. I don't have to tell you how important those are, and mine had the meditation and memories of my last 600 years within it. It was really stupid of me, but I've only been able to track it to the Orochi Temple, but that place is full of booby traps and well guarded, I can't simply enter it. If you could bring it back to me, I could deal with this problem myself..." she said, pausing in a way which let Tamamo understand there were multiple quest options in this case. Beyond that she internally scoffed, she knew all about the Orochi Temple and it was already empty, not that it mattered much. "Or, you could take care of the Spiders as a whole. They're consorting with the Orochi is a problem for us all, not just me. He'd see all power claimed for himself, selfish jerk!" she said softly, giving more context clues for the mind of Ashikaga Kimiko to work with. "Sou ka, I was wondering about those options. You'd trust me to get back something so precious to you?" she asked of the elder Kitsune who hadn't trusted her at all upon her arrival. "Well, truth be told, if you actually managed to find it, and your intentions were anything but positive towards me, I'd know about it instantly." said Kuono who looked at the pink haired lass before. "Still I see it as a non-issue." she concluded. "Sou ka, so either I prove my allegiance and strength, by dealing with your pest problem. Or I prove it and my cunning, by returning something valuable to you..." Tamamo said aloud, obviously she'd be doing both things, but she had no intention of letting on. At least not yet. "And how do I know you won't just turn on me and try and wipe me out if you get it back?" she asked one last question to put all necessary information out on the table. "If you can return it to me, I'd consider you a trusted advisor, I wouldn't act without at least consulting you. You have my word. Besides you are Daji, or rather her newest incarnation, if I cannot have faith in you, then all is truly lost..." Kuono said, and there was a great deal of honesty in her eyes when Tamamo met her gaze.Comment
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It was her name, she said. Well, that was as terrible a reason as anything else he'd ever heard. Moving on, it was time to demonstrate his vast superiority by consuming the most cakes. Alas... his plan went awry when Tamamo opted for an approach of... kindness. Disgusting. Every bit of displeasure showed in the bulging vein upon Inosuke's forehead. In a fit of rage, he flipped the entire tray of cakes in Tamamo's direction, flinging the pile toward the fox's face. What followed was the male looking away, chewing as angrily as such an act could be. How dare she present him with such a conundrum. Where was the fight? Where was the challenge? Where was his opportunity to prove he was the ultimate being?! These happy-go-lucky rebuttals were repulsive, and he would be having none of them!Comment
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